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By JILL LAWLESS LONDON (AP) — An emphatic election victory for Britain’s environmentalist Green Party is a nightmare for Prime Minister Keir Starmer that raises questions about how long he will continue as leader. Less than two years after winning power in a landslide , Starmer’s center-left Labour Party not only lost a longtime stronghold in its northern England heartlands — it came third, finishing behind both the left-leaning Greens and the hard-right party Reform U.K . Thursday’s election in the Gorton and Denton constituency of Greater Manchester was for just one seat out of 650 in the House of Commons. But it’s a glimpse into the messy new reality of British politics, and its consequences could be far-reaching. Here are takeaways from the election. Britain’s Prime Minister Keir Starmer meets local party members, in London, Friday, Feb. 27, 2026. (Stefan Rousseau/PA via AP) Starmer is in trouble The result is a heavy blow to Starmer, whose leadership has staggered throu...

By SAM METZ JERUSALEM (AP) — As U.S. forces mass in the Middle East, Iran faces  the threat of major strikes  by the world’s most powerful military, potentially targeting its leaders, military, nuclear sites and critical infrastructure. Iran has nowhere near the same capabilities, and is even more vulnerable after last year’s  war launched by Israel  and recent anti-government protests. But it could still inflict pain on  American forces  and allies, and may feel it has to if the Islamic Republic’s survival is at stake. While Iran suffered major losses last June, it still has hundreds of missiles capable of hitting Israel, according to Israel’s estimates. Iran boasts a much larger arsenal of shorter-range missiles capable of hitting U.S. bases in Gulf countries and offshore American forces, soon to be joined by  a second aircraft carrier . Iran has previously threatened to close the Strait of Hormuz,  a vital waterway for the global oil trade ...

By GHAITH ALSAYED DAMASCUS, Syria (AP) — A now-closed camp that housed thousands of people with suspected links to the Islamic State group in northeast Syria has witnessed “mass escape” in the weeks since government forces took control of it, with at least 133 breaches discovered, a Syrian official said Wednesday. The escapes during clashes between Syrian forces and Kurdish fighters who controlled the camp have raised security concerns in a region where memories of IS running rampant for years remain fresh. Related Articles UK leader Starmer faces an electoral test after Epstein fallout shakes his grip on power Indonesia frees and deports American who spent 11 years in prison for Bali ‘suitcase murder’ Mexico sends second aid package to Cuba as US tightens energy blockade The home of the ‘Mona Lisa’ has a new boss to steer the Louvre out of crisis after jewel heist Ukrainian officials to meet Trump envoys in Geneva over more Russia talks It was not immediately clear how ...

By WILL WEISSERT WASHINGTON (AP) — They typically start the day as low-profile Cabinet secretaries . They end it that way, too, God willing. But when the rest of the government is gathered together for a big event, like President Donald Trump’s State of the Union address Tuesday night, a designated survivor is kept away to ensure someone in the line of leadership succession stays alive. Picking a fail-safe in case of a cataclysmic event that wipes out everyone else dates back to the Cold War. It’s been dramatized in novels and an ABC series starring Kiefer Sutherland that aired from 2016 to 2019. When Trump addressed a joint session of Congress last March, Veterans Affairs Secretary Doug Collins was chosen as the designated survivor. FILE – Veterans Affairs Secretary Doug Collins arrives before Ireland’s Prime Minister Michael Martin and President Donald Trump speak during an event in the East Room of the White House in Washington, March 12, 2025. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon, file) ...

By SYLVIA HUI LONDON (AP) — It’s been 90 years since a British royal was removed from the line of succession. That might happen again now that Britain’s government says it will consider introducing legal changes to formally remove Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor from the list of royals in line to the throne. Despite being stripped of his status as prince in October over his close links with the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, the former Prince Andrew , King Charles III’s younger brother, remains eighth in line to become monarch. Experts say the process of removing him from the line of succession could be lengthy because it requires the involvement of about a dozen countries that also call the British monarch their head of state. Nonetheless, momentum for change appears to be building after police last week arrested Mountbatten-Windsor on suspicion of misconduct in public office. Following the release of millions of pages of files last month related to Epstein by the U.S....

A Brooklyn woman is desperately seeking the return of her beloved dog after a neighbor offered to care for the animal as she recuperated from an illness, only to later inform her she was keeping the pooch, according to a lawsuit filed in Kings County Supreme Court. Valerie D’Angelo, 65, adopted her dog, a terrier-mix named Grace, from Sean Casey Animal Rescue in 2018 as a remedy for the grief and loneliness she experienced after losing her 18-year-old son, who completed suicide in 2013. “My dog is everything to me,” said D’Angelo. “She’s my family. I love her so much.” About two years ago, a woman living two floors below D’Angelo’s Kensington apartment, Catherine Feijoo-Nickell, took an interest in the dog, knitting two sweaters for the pooch and once offering D’Angelo help with moving furniture so she could have an “opportunity to be around Grace,” according to the suit filed Tuesday. “Being a trusting person, I thought it was a nice gesture. It just came very suddenly. Very fast...

Mayor Mamdnani has announced New York City’s first full school snow day — with no remote learning — in years for Monday in anticipation of a major blizzard. The mayor made the announcement on social media Sunday, posting a video of a FaceTime call between him and an eighth-grade girl named Victoria who attends public school in Brooklyn. “Oh my God, it’s the mayor,” the girl yelped. “We’ve got a full snow day tomorrow. No online school, no remote learning. Full classic snow day,” Mamdani told Victoria. “So my only ask to you is that you just stay safe, stay indoors during the height of the storm. Once that has passed, feel flee to go out and sled.” The decision comes as the city braces for a possible 18 to 22 inches of snow, with the severe weather rolling in about 9 p.m. Sunday. Tomorrow is the first traditional snow day in the years since the advent of remote learning during the 2020 COVID pandemic. Mamdani asked the state for a waiver of its requirement that the school year i...